Illinois basketball puts focus on bench

Friday

Jan 27, 2012 at 12:01 AMJan 27, 2012 at 7:58 PM

Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber wasn't ready to concede a short bench played a role in the 67-63 loss to Wisconsin on Sunday, even though the plans still called for more minutes to freshman Myke Henry and two other key reserves.

John Supinie

CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber wasn't ready to concede a short bench played a role in the 67-63 loss to Wisconsin on Sunday, even though the plans still called for more minutes to freshman Myke Henry and two other key reserves.

"They just out-hustled us, out-toughed us,'' Weber said Thursday. "I don't know if it's fatigue or they had a greater will, greater determination to win. I don't know if it's fatigue or the mental toughness to be successful.''

Idle during the middle of the week because of the second open slot in their Big Ten schedule in three weeks, the Illini (15-5 overall, 4-3 in the Big Ten) play at Minnesota (15-6, 3-5) on Saturday (7 p.m., BTN).

Although the priorities for Weber were finding another reliable scorer and building more trust with a bench that hasn't produced a point in two of the last three games, Weber kept hammering at grit and willpower with competitive practice drills this week.

"He's really been pushing the toughness,'' said center Meyers Leonard.

Like other locker rooms, the Illini have their aches and pains, besides point guard Sam Maniscalco's troublesome ankle. Guard D.J. Richardson's sprained right wrist is healing, a good sign after he went 10 of 34 from the floor over the last three games. Leonard said he was fine after a sprained ankle last weekend suffered in the weight room.

"There are more ice bags in there than you can imagine,'' Weber said. "That's a mental toughness thing.''

Maniscalco produced "two of his better practices of the year'' earlier this week, Weber said, but the coach sounded like he needed to talk himself into sharing more minutes with freshman Myke Henry. A talented scorer who might provide a punch from the outside, Henry hadn't earned Weber's trust on the practice court.

"You have to practice well,'' Weber said. "Sometimes as a coach, you have to fight through that and fight through your cautiousness. You're not sure he can get the job done. He doesn't always get the job done in practice.

"One thing he can do is put it in the hoop. He seems to play without nervousness. Maybe we need a little bit of that.''

Henry struggled earlier in the season when he attempted to learn two positions in Weber's offense. Apparently, he will play at power forward in a small-ball lineup.

"He has a great ability to make shots and find open spaces,'' Leonard said. "He's still learning the game, bu the has a great offensive skill set along with being able to rebound.''

It shouldn't be a surprise to see Henry and freshman center Nnanna Egwu earn early playing time against Minnesota.

"We've got to use Nnanna and his energy,'' Weber said. "He has to do it without fouling.''

The bench minutes logged by key Illini reserves are the lowest since Weber's first year. Illinois' key bench players -- Maniscalco, Tyler Griffey and Egwu -- account for 37.7 percent of the minutes in Big Ten play, well below the 56.5 percent of minutes logged by the bench last season in conference play.

With a road game at Minnesota followed by a home game against No. 10 Michigan State on Tuesday, the Illini face tough challenges to finish the first half of the Big Ten season.

"We're kind of hanging in the middle,'' Weber said. "Anyone who can find a way to win against a team (in the middle of the pack) would give you an advantage. It's a huge game for us Saturday. You've got all these teams jumbled in the middle. Can you make a spurt and jump into that top part of the pack? Do you stay in the middle or go backwards?''

The Big Ten is tight. Entering games Thursday, eight of the 12 teams already two to four losses in Big Ten play. It's nothing like the Atlantic-10, where 11 of the 14 teams had two or three conference losses.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @JohnSupinie.